New Threat: Enter Abyss Fang
Introduction A horrific cacophony of sounds spread throughout the town square; screams cut off prematurely, the pitter-patter of feet too small, too weak, to carry them far, and bodies hitting the ground. The whole town reeked of human waste, an overwhelming scent for anyone not accustomed to it. The little village never stood a chance, but really, that was the plan. They were utterly wiped out in less than an hour, four mages all it took to decimate the population. A town with an abysmal mage count was an easy target, and they didn't need any more than that to make their statement; Abyss Fang is here, and they aren't going anywhere. Xavier yanked a knife out of someone's neck. He gruesomely tore through their throat and watched as the light faded from their eyes. His eyes were alight with something far greater than simple adrenaline. Ichor, the golden blood of gods, was the only comparison he could draw to the energy rushing through him, but his power was anything but holy. Blood splatters decorated his clothes and skin, his jacket abandoned somewhere to expose the harness on his chest, where only 3 knives remained. He flicked his wrist to get rid of some of the blood collected on his blade. "I'm surprised Little Red could be bothered to accompany us," he threw a look at his partner, a smirk as sharp as a knife on his face. "Shouldn't you be off running errands?" Loki tilted his head, "You know I never miss a party." He stood with hands in his pockets as a large warrior of ice sliced through a cafe wall, revealing a group of hidden townsfolk. The knight halted and Loki's hand drew itself from its pocket. Seven golden seals lit up the sky above the building and the ground beneath it. "The Star," Loki said calmly and pillars of golden light obliterated the site. A few gunshots could be heard a few houses over, silencing the screams of several more townsfolk. Not long after them Markus appeared before the two men, blood dripping down his his curled lips and his twin pistols resting in his hands. He looked at the two before looking at Loki and smirked, "It's always nice seeing you in action Red." Looking around the room he was seemingly searching for something. "Seems you guys are finished on your end." His voice trailed off as he saw a large body on the floor and walked over to it. Picking it up by the head before sinking his extended canine teeth into the corpse's neck, more blood flowing down his mouth and chin. Komodo was nearby, sinking his teeth into the body of another as well, although he was after more than just blood. He tore off flesh from their body as if eating a turkey leg. Not just on his teeth and mouth, but blood covered almost every inch of his body. "I hate teaming up with you Markus," said Komodo, still chewing. "You steal all the good food." Xavier's smirk flattened into a line. "You know, it's nice Nero lets his pets out to play every now and again, but really," he said as he drew another blade. He threw them, nesting the blades into the dead bodies his two associates were holding, less than an inch from their waiting mouths. "Do Loki and I have to play babysitter?" He pointed a finger at Komodo's widening mouth, his smirk returning. "And you, lizard, if you try and munch on that knife, I will reach into your nasty gullet and forcefully yank it out of you. Understand?" He sauntered on over to the pair, pulling out his blades as he went. "Do try and be a little more civil next time, would you? Last time I checked, it's not the little monsters lunchtime, and we have to keep you two on a tight leash if we want you sticking around." It wasn't like Markus to feel challenged, or do what he did next. But he didn't like being disrespected. Within a second his body shifted into shadows and had moved to stand an inch away from Xavier. His blood-red eyes staring into Xavier's blue ones. He didn't move any closer or any further away, he simply cocked the gun in his right hand. "I think, it will do it kindly to remember, which one of us is older, and has been with Nero longer." Without another word, he moved away from the pair and to his meal, although his hunger had died down considerably. Xavier stared back, eyes bright with amusement. "It's cute how you think time has anything to do with this. Nero would throw all of us in the line of fire if it meant keeping himself going. If my knife were to just fall into your throat, he wouldn't shed a tear over your body and would have you replaced in a heartbeat." Komodo snarled at Xavier. "Don't tell me what I can and can't eat! I might just end up eating you!" He continued engaging himself with the dead people underneath him, taking chunks off of dismembered limbs, and tearing out the throats of others. His tongue suddenly flicked out of his mouth, with a large grin coming across his face. "That tastes good." He got off of the feast he was currently consuming and began walking over in the direction of the smell. "That seems a lot more nutritious." Xavier rolled his eyes, "Go ahead and try, I'll have you skinned and processed into a handbag faster than you can think. Guess that's not that impressive though, is it?" Komodo's attention was lost as quickly as he could catch it and Xavier had no interest in getting it again either. He set off on his own, recalling the moments he threw his knives so he could gather them again. A smug smile slid perfectly across Loki's face as he observed the antics, "Now now, we're all friends here. Besides, the job is just about done. We should be going soon." For once, Markus found himself agreeing with the red-headed mage. He was about to speak when his vampiric senses picked up a scent. His body stiffened as his hands gripped his guns tighter. "Wait. I smell something...coming from the north side of the town." Looking at his comrades he walked outside of the building and then back in. "I think it's a group. May be more villagers. Pick a spot, be silent. Ambush them when they get close enough to you." As he finished he himself let his body melt into shadows and disappear out of the room. Komodo flicked his tongue again. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "There's four of them. Two women, two men. They taste really good!" His mouth was watering. "I can't wait to eat all of them!" His body completely disappeared from view, only a barely visible silhouette being seen as Komodo moved into a hiding spot. Xavier continued to pick up his strewn knives, not bothering to try and hide. He wasn't being discrete either, pursuing his goal with a one-track mind, though he was as aware of himself as he had been before. He knew the exact distance to the next knife and how to get there fastest, the pillars that might obstruct a distanced attack, and the hidden alleyways to escape into. As familiar with the town as though he'd lived there before, he was creating ways to make it work to his benefit in order to devise a plan of attack should these newcomers prove themselves violent. Loki clicked his tongue. It was too late for an easy escape after all. He made no move to hide. He was a flame in the midst of a gray, dying city, his red scarf and burning hair killing any chance of stealth he had. He didn't need anonymity, the council already knew his face. As the members of Abyss Fang prepared themselves for an attack, the source of the scent had drawn in closer to the town square. Two men and two women all bearing a particular guild mark on their bodies, cautiously made their way through the blood stained streets. Bodies littered the area, some of them received a quick death with only cuts in their body, whilst others were even chewed up and eaten, left in a disfigured state. The party of Dragon Gunfire made up of Aka Night, Timothy Gusto, Lorenza Cyrus and Vittorio Sibiko were sent to see what was happening with the town, but didn't expect to find it in such a horrific state. Vittorio gave a loud sigh to catch the attention of the other guild mages, "Uh, maybe we should split up? We'll cover more ground and find out who did this faster." he nervously suggested. Timothy was holding his nose closed. The smell of blood circulating in the air. Timothy was trying not to look at the gruesome scene around him. "If I don't look, I won't remember." he thought to himself. His gag reflex was trying to activate as he glanced over at a mangled body of a young child, with only parts of their hair unstained by blood. "Whoever did this, at least some of it, doesn't seem to be fully human," He said to the others as he noticed large bite wounds on another corpse. Aka nodded along with her teammate's comments, falling usually quiet for the quick-witted mage. She crouched down to observe the body of what appeared to be a man—although she couldn't even tell due to the state the body was left in. Her nose scrunched up and she stood back up, scarlet hair swaying. "What a shit hole." Her bluntness was nothing out of the ordinary—not meant to make fun of, or demean, but simply stating a fact. Death embraced the town in a smothering manner, the sweet perfume that followed it no matter what swirled in Aka's head as she tried to think straight; running an inventory through her of the bullets she had left. "Who are we even dealing with?" Lorenza observing the destruction around her, remaining calm despite the carnage around her being a testament to destruction. She turned to Aka fully clad in her Black Aegis simply commenting "We are dealing with demons or monsters, at the very least we are dealing with something that deserves nothing less than a swift death... Whatever was here showed no mercy, so I will show it none..." She turned her attention back to the surroundings to not allow her guard to drop in this town, an instinct inside of her told her that dropping her guard here for any second could cost her too much. The path in front of them smelled of death and despair and looked just as grim. Vittorio continued to proceed forward but couldn't help but feel that someone or something was near them, observing them from the shadows even. Whatever tore down the village was something they understood to be dangerous, and so being grouped together would only make them easier to kill. Vittorio coughed to grab the attention of the other Dragon Gunfire mages. "This is where we part ways to look for clues. I'll take my leave to go here, feel free to join me if you'd like. But it'd be better if we all went separate directions to cover more ground." He cautiously recommended before heading for the side and into an alleyway the group was passing. Timothy silently agreed with Vittorio. He activated his Ping '''spell so that everyone can keep track of the others as a precaution against attack or if someone found a clue. He looked around him to choose a direction and decided to continue walking down the street they were on as it began to curve towards the center of town. Komodo vs Lorenza After walking a decent distance away from the group Lorenza seemed to flick several black orbs from her hands that seemed to hover around her, they seemed to be scanning around the area she was walking. After a she simply stopped walking, all throughout being separated from her group she never let her guard down even now not a single inch of her was expecting to be left alone. She scoffed slightly "If you want to kill me then you should probably tone down your killing intent, although given the state of this town I highly doubt you care enough to do so...." She said coldly aiming her glare at the source of the killing intent. Komodo's body became visible again as he cringed to the surface of a nearby wall. "Sorry about that. It's just... You taste so good!" He began climbing down the wall, before jumping off a few feet away. "A woman, and a younger one at that. Their flesh are so much more tender. I can't wait to eat you!" The black orbs Lorenza created earlier began to fly closer to Komodo, the unknown mage in front of her was clearly not to be underestimated "So.... a mindless hound of the abyss, following his dear masters orders... I won't bother asking for your name, neither will I give mine. So then denizen of the abyss go rot in a ditch somewhere." As she spoke these words the orbs gathering around Komodo violently jetted out a spike from them aimed at him, each orb strategically positioned in a way that at least one might potentially jab into Komodo's body. As this was going on Lorenza's shadow underneath her feet slowly began to spiral out in a circle covering the ground around her as she observed her opponent. Komodo didn't even attempt to move as the blades suddenly punctured his body. He fell from the wall, a large grin still etched onto his face. He crashed down into the ground, a small dust cloud coming up. Despite the grievous injuries, he got back to his feet as if nothing had happened. "Now that felt good." He pulled one of the blades out of his body as he said this, the wound immediately closing up. "Perhaps you can hurt me more." He pulled out the other as he began approaching his meal. In a flash of light, Komodo had pounced towards Lorenza, his fingernails suddenly turning into claws as he swiped at her face. Lorenza carefully observing Komodo as he was punctured by her black orbs attack gave her a critical clue to her opponents method of combat, a form of regeneration was clear enough after he seemed to not even attempt to dodge her attack, furthermore the injuries she had landed with the black orbs spike attacks couldn't normally heal up that fast. She would need to be careful but from what she could gather from his attitude he seemed to enjoy the attack. "So you're the Abyss's pincushion, good to know...." As she said that she witnessed Komodo's pouncing attack towards her she didn't even flinch as the darkness under her that had covered several feet around her had almost instinctively launched half a dozen spiked spires the size and shape of lances at him, systematically aimed to counter Komodo's current momentum built pounce and use it against him as it was unlikely he could dodge mid air and even if the dark spires didn't pierce into them they would more then likely stop his momentum before he could reach her to try and claw at her face. Loki vs Timothy Loki wandered through the streets, almost dragging his feet. He had no significant sensory attributes in comparison to the guild's monsters, so he waited. The chaos was nice and he was still thriving from the vibrance of Xavier's expressions. Now it was boring. The law was dull. The town dead. Dead boring. Pebbles crackled across the ground and his attention shifted to the curve of the street. A shadow lengthened before a man appeared, dressed simply with wire-framed glasses adorning his face. Loki's expression curved into a lopsided smile. "So, you're not a Rune Knight. Who'd the council send?" Loki said haphazardly, his hands still casually slung into his pockets, shoulders relaxed and forward. Timothy had an uneasy feeling in his gut, an unfamiliar fear had crept into his consciousness. He continued down the street until a man with bright orange hair came into view. Timothy recognized the man right away. He went by the name Loki, and was infamous around the country. Timothy gulped to swallow his fear, as all the stories of his deeds flooded into his mind. He continued to walk forward towards the man so that they could be within talking distance. "I'm a mage sent to check the status of this town... seems to me aside from you and me, the town's dead," Timothy stated as calmly as he could. "Would you mind answering why you were found alive among all the dead, Loki?" The grin spread like a knife across Loki's features, "I think we both know the answer to that question. Now—" Loki turned to face him fully, giving him another once over, "—I wonder what tricks you have... You share yours, maybe I'll share mine." Timothy got into a prepared stance, activating his '''wind suit silently as a basic protection against Loki. Timothy used Kinesis on the ground below Loki, creating a sinkhole just below the cobblestone he is on. "If you want to trade some magic, I'm always happy to learn some new moves," Timothy said as the cobblestone beneath Loki's position began to give way. Loki tsked as the ground gave way. With one leap he cleared the distance of the small sinkhole, advancing towards Timothy. The gap wasn't closed, a few meters still spanning the distance. His expression had changed from a smile to a mock-pout. "Come on~" He coaxed, "This isn't even fun yet, at least tell me your name before you start anything serious." "Oh! Where are my manners? It's Timothy," Timothy said as he decided to cross his arms. "Now, I'm guessing you won't come quietly." "Hm." Loki raised his hand to his chin, looking up and pretending to think about the question, "I suppose I would have a lovely time in a cozy prison cell, but, then again, there's nothing quite like having the Council's hounds nipping at my heels." "Even if you do manage to get away, what is the point to all of this?" Timothy asked, hoping to understand the man better. Timothy knows that he can't win against Loki, not on his own. All he could do now is try and survive this encounter. "All the death, the destruction here... these people weren't hurting anyone!" "You flatter me too much," Loki's voice was a honey drawl, "I know I'm handsome and horribly intelligent, but do you really think I'm running the show? Besides, this is just a side job. The real thing is much more exciting." he finished with a wink. Markus vs Aka A faint buzzing at the back of her head gave Aka a mental map to keep track of her fellow teammates, thanks to Timothy's Ping. She had defected from the group a little while ago, simply just taking in the scenery of carnage. Whoever was responsible for this sure seemed artistic—and not in the good way. Running a hand through her tight ponytail, Aka stopped in her tracks and summoned her Fear Weapon: Admiral Storm, the familiar curves of its hilt fitting snugly in her palm. A ways ahead, she could have sworn a head of ebony hair was leaning against a wall, but after a blink, she begun to think otherwise. Regardless, it would take a fool to not remain cautious, her guarded gaze appearing as a fiery amber. There it is again. Aka was sure that she spotted a perpetrator who was undoubtedly responsible for this. Her grip simply tightened. Markus had been eyeing the young red head since he had smelled her. All these cold corpses around him served only to simmer his burning need to feed on human blood. As much self control as he had, even he couldn't keep his hunger down for long. Using his shadow manipulation to pass quickly between shadows, he gave her only a glimmer of his real form before he moved away. 'She is pretty, maybe i will be able to turn her into a servant. This thought however, was quickly banished as a blade appeared in her hands. Readying one of his guns he moved to the shadow of a building a few yards to her left. After phasing out of the shadows he pointed one of his guns at her leg, squeezing the trigger and letting a single bullet fly. Xavier vs Vittorio Thirteen knives. Somehow, for all his meticulous searching, the final one eluded him, and his expression was slowly twisting up. Six people, six new memories forced into his brain and compiling into something he could work with. They jumbled together in some places—they all knew each other after all—making it more difficult to pin each of them down. Frustration bubbled as he twirled a knife in his hand, hoping to sink it into something more satisfying than these worthless townspeople. Vittorio walked around the corner with two special things in both hands; in his right was a severed head, mutilated and disfigured to a point of nonrecognition. And in his left he was dragging a body behind, only their throat was slashed with blood soaked into their clothes, clearly a kill to only get the job done. Vittorio smiled at Xavier and whistled to catch the dark mage's attention, approaching him carefully and ready to react if Xavier was to attack. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that your the one that caused all this? Good job, though I've done a better job before, legally might I add." He casually spoke as if he was friends with Xavier, his tone light and cheery. He suddenly chucked the severed head over to Xavier with an underarm throw, only to throw the body a short distance in front of him after, for Xavier to take a good look at. Vittorio placed his hand over his eye and pulled away, to reveal that the visible eye now bared a strange symbol for a pupil. He opened his mouth and spoke, this time with a strong and confident tone. "Mind telling me which one of these fine gentlemen is your handy work?" He politely asked. "You’re being rather disrespectful to the dead. You never know where their memories might lurk, waiting to bite you. I would be more mindful.” He wasn't avoiding the question, it was just more fun to play with the haughty ones, and from Vittorio’s confidence, he was just his type. He doesn't give the head tossed his way much thought, simply moves out of its path to avoid it. The body that's tossed is one he knows, if only from the memories of looking in a mirror that come up. “What do you want?” he asked after another few moments. A fight was clearly the answer, there was no mistaking the tension, the magic energy bristling from the mage opposite him. It was easy to see killing him would be fun, more fun than anything else this evening. He just didn't want to throw the first punch, he didn't want to waste his time on prey he could finish off in more efficient ways. Vittorio scoffed, "Answers? Not really looking for much of a fight here, I'm a man who'd like to settle things with words." he clarified, beginning to walk around Xavier slowly with his eye still set on the dark mage. Every step he took was careful and made aware, the dirt crunched underneath every step of his boots. His hands were loosely balled, his eyes fierce with concentration that Xavier, and whatever he had to throw at Vittorio, were the center of his world now. Vittorio had made his way to the other side of his original position, reaching down with both hands and packing his hands with dirt. He gripped onto it and tucked it compactly into his fists, the excess grains fell from his hands and back to the ground. Vittorio smiled as he looked right at Xavier, his grin was inviting Xavier to pull the first move. "Ladies first?" he jokingly asked, his tone playful and sarcastic. Xavier watched Vittorio with waning interest. He was interesting, sure, but at the same time, painfully slow and boring. He yawned, following his movements, if only out of courtesy. "Settle things with words, huh? Strange how that never happens when I'm involved." He drew a knife, wondering why his opponent might pick up dirt. It made no sense, for the time being. If he was an earth mage, he would have simply lifted it telepathically. Maybe he planned on throwing it in his eyes, but the way he compacted it seemed to roll that out as well. Whatever the case, Xavier kept it in the back of his mind, speculating it could well be a distractor for whatever else Vittorio had planned. "Sure," he says, lighting up his throwing knife before flicking his wrist, as though he was playing a round of darts, his target, Vittorio's left arm. A warning shot, but more so to test Vittorio's reflexes. The blade whizzed by like a bullet, and on an uninterrupted path, would lodge itself safely into a brick pillar. If it cut, the wound would be superficial at worst, nothing more than a grazing blow, a slight burn accompanying it due to the knives fiery qualities. Though on the outside time was going at a normal rate, Vittorio's perspective and sense of the world slowed around him, moving at an unbelievable slow pace. The only thing that was moving normally for him was his mind. He had a good look at Xavier and his attack, giving him the time to plan out his next moves accordingly. The direction of the knife was not heading for any important organs so it would result in a wound that shouldn't majorly hinder his combat. The energy within him began buzzing, his body feeling active and fiery, he just wanted to move. Vittorio pulled his boy from the incoming knife, taking a step to the side and allowing the blade to sink its tip into the pillar behind him. For Vittorio the world resumed its normal pace and looked back to the knife and then to Xavier. It didn't reveal much but about Vittorio's magics but only displayed his quick thinking and reflex. Vittorio didn't appreciate Xavier's move, and stood ready for anymore attacks that the dark mage was going to throw. Xavier's lifted an eyebrow. Vittorio was moving fast, and while it wasn't particularly difficult for Xavier to follow him, it was simply exciting to see someone capable of reacting faster than his knives flew. He thought, for a moment, what it might be like to get a handle on that speed, a smirk crawling across his face. Familiar and foreign, the desire to have more memories swimming in his mind was a force he could rarely deny. However, he would find it easy after his bloodbath earlier. This would be a pleasure kill, one he could make use of, unlike the rest of the ones from this evening. He drew two more knives, aiming one at the junction of his right shoulder and collarbone, the other flying at the ankle opposite that. He took stock of his reaction and ambled to the left diagonally, despite the ache in his muscles to simply lurch forward. A fight, a real fight, waited just yards away, but he kept himself distanced. There was no sense in rushing into it. It would just make it harder than it needed to be. 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